By scoring a personal best 86.00 in Thursday’s short skate, Brown earned a place in the final grouping in the free skate program. On Sunday, he finished fourth in the free skate in the team competition, helping the U.S. win bronze.

"All year in this program, in every competition I have gone to, I have gotten a personal best," Brown said after competing on Thursday, smiling broadly. "I didn't want to stop in the Olympics."

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While Japan’s Yuzuru Hanyu and Canada’s Patrick Chan battle for gold on Friday, Brown is one of a handful of skaters within reach of bronze.

Brown is expected to skate a routine that has already become Internet gold: the loose-limbed, quick-stepping program to a song from “Riverdance” that he performed last month at the U.S. National Championships in Boston, which earned him a spot on the Olympic team. The crowd was on its feet before he’d finished.